In Sophocles' Oedipus as well as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the main character embarks on a journey to self-discovery, ultimately gaining the knowledge of his own flaws. Yet the differences in their failings cause the two characters to have very different endings. After Oedipus learns of his true identity, he realizes that he has cursed himself with his arrogance and pride, and the play ends tragically. Sir Gawain, on the other hand, has good reason for his mistakes as he simply fears for his own life and his story ends on a lighter note. While self-discovery can humble a character, the nature of his flaws ultimately determine his end. Initially Oedipus appears blind to the knowledge of his heritage, but, by the end of the play he gains the horrifying knowledge of his true identity and the information he has indeed fulfilled the prophecy. Once Oedipus realizes that he has fulfilled the oracle, he panics and cries out, "LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT / never again flood these eyes with your white radiance, oh gods, my eyes. All, all / the oracles have proven true" (ll. 1492-1494). Oedipus finally comes out of figurative blindness and into the "light," or knowledge, that he has indeed killed his father and married his mother. He essentially curses he new-found wisdom and begs that "light never again" reach his eyes because of its horrifying consequences. In addition, Oedipus recognizes the fact that he "knew nothing until now, saw nothing until now, and became / the husband of the woman who gave him birth" (ll. 1926-1927). He admits that that until his conversation with shepherd he "knew nothing until now," as he believed that he would not complete the prophecy by fleeing to Corinth. Unfortunately, this new i... ... middle of paper ... ...r Gawain's reminder of his faults into a sign of "honour" which turns out as "good for the Round Table's renown." The court chooses to forgive Sir Gawain's shameful cowardice and wear the green out of respect for King Arthur's knight. In fact, the symbol whose original purpose served as a reminder of Sir Gawain's failings, now becomes a positive sign "for the Round Table's renown." Consequently, Sir Gawain does not fall for his actions but instead maintains the respect he receives from King Arthur's court. While Oedipus' pride and arrogance causes him to fall into disgrace once he learns his true identity, Sir Gawain's pride initially causes him shame, but ultimately is forgiven. Because Oedipus acts arrogantly for his own selfish purposes whereas Sir Gawain acts out of fear, Oedipus' pride cannot be absolved and he therefore becomes a blind outcast.
As tragic hero Oedipus displays all of the usual canon; power, arrogance, and pride. Oedipus manifests himself in a position of confidence, which he derives from his success at solving the riddle of the Sphinx and marrying a queen.“It was you who came / and released Cadmus’ Town from the tribute / we paid to the cruel songstress…” (Sophocles, 33-35) , “CREON: Then tell me this - / are you not married to my sister?” (Sophocles, 696-697). In turn, it also enabled him to make rash decisions, such as slaying his father, without personal recompense. “I was to slay my father. And he dies, / And the grave hide...
Gawain is devastated by his weakness and lack of honor and cowardice revealed by his hiding the green girdle from the master. He begins to repent and chastise himself for his failings. This reveals his human weakness that is in all of us. He is very humbled by his behavior (133).
...Gawain’s time in the wilderness, living nature, and his acceptance of the lady’s offering of the green girdle teach him that though he may be the most chivalrous knight in the land, he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
Oedipus the King conveys many lessons that are relevant to people living today despite the fact that it was written by Sophocles twenty four centuries ago. Oedipus is a child destined to kill his father and marry his mother. During his life, he makes many mistakes trying to avoid his fate. These mistakes teach us about the nature of humans under certain circumstances. Oedipus possesses personality traits which causes him to make wrong decisions. Attributes like arrogance and his inability to make calm decisions in certain scenarios due to his anger causes his downfall. Oedipus’ excessive pride, like many people today, was an important factor that brought him grief. Oedipus’ lack of patience caused him to make hasty decisions which lead him to his greatest agony. Oedipus’ massive ego turned into excessive vanity, this was the first step to his downfall. Oedipus talks to Creon about the murderer of Laius. He declares, “Then I’ll go back and drag that shadowed past to light… but by myself and for myself I’ll break this plague” (Sophocles, 11). Oedipus is saying that he will be the on...
Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother, with whom he produces four children. These are terrible crimes, impious, immoral and illegal. However, the fact that he carries these out in ignorance, not conscious of his own actions, attributes them to severe misfortune and a cruel fate. He even tried, in vain, to avoid the completion of this destiny, leaving his believed home city of Corinth upon hearing it told to him at the Oracle of Apollo ("I heard all that and ran" 876). Thus, when it is revealed to him, this sudden revelation of his crimes within one day leads him to blind himself so that he can no longer see what he has done ("Nothing I could see could bring me joy" 1473). The blinding was not required by fate and is indeed self inflicted but he believed that it is just punishment for what he has done, and by doing so he regains some control over his fate ("hand that struck my eyes was mine...
“…they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me!” These are the words Oedipus shouted as he blinds himself upon learning the truth of his past. It is ironic how a person blessed with perfect physical vision could in reality be blind to to matters of life and conscience. During his prime as King of Thebes, Oedipus is renowned for his lucidity and his ability to rule with a clear concept of justice and equality. The people loved him for his skill and wit, as he saved Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx. As a result, Oedipus became overly confident, and refuses to see that he may be the cause of the malady that is plaguing his kingdom. Although physically Oedipus has full use of his eyes, Sophocles uses sight to demonstrate how Oedipus is blind to the truth about his past what it might me for both him and his kingdom. Upon learning the truth, Oedipus gouges out his eyes, so he won’t have to look upon his children, or the misfortune that is his life. Once physically unable to see, Oedipus has clear vision as to his fate, and what must be done for his kingdom and his family
During their daily conversations, Gawain’s mind begins to wander to the benefits that would be gained from falling into the lady’s temptations. He knows as he is leaving King Arthur’s court that he will never return because the Green Knight’s blow will kill him. However, with the green girdle—and its magical capabilities—his fate could be different. Gawain knows if he takes the belt he would avoid this fate because he could “come to the chapel, and take that stroke, and with this glorious device walk off unharmed” (1857-1858). This is intriguing to Gawain because it gives him hope of walking away from his encounter with the Green Knight. This moment also reveals to the reader Gawain’s intense desire to survive. It shows he is putting his own life at a greater importance than the Code of Chivalry. Later in the story, the girdle transforms for Gawain into a symbol of remembrance of his sin and failure to honor the code. After he returns home from his journey, Gawain wears the green girdle “as a sign and token of the sin he’d committed” (2487-2488). Because the code of honor he is trying to uphold is so strict, he feels as if he has let down the knights at the Round Table. This is a prime example of how self-preservation leads to
Oedipus's pride leads to the story's tragic ending. He is too proud to consider the words of the prophet Teiresias, choosing, instead to rely on his own investing powers. Teiresias warns him not to pry into these matters, but pride in his intelligence leads Oedipus to continue his search. Oedipus thinks he can change fate. He just tries to ignore it, because he counts on his own ability to root out the truth. Oedipus is a clever man, but he is blind to the truth and refuses to believe Teiresias's warnings. He suffers because of his hamartia. I t is this excessive pride fuels his own destruction. I would just say Oedipus is a tragic hero.
After reading through the piece of literature Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one will realize there are many elements present throughout that could be analyzed such as humility, chastity, and courage. It could be interpreted that the author meant for the main theme of the writing to be a theme of chastity. Although the element of chastity is present in that Sir Gawain is tested by many sexual temptations, the element of humility is one that is prominent and changing throughout the piece. Humility is apparent throughout the story in the way Sir Gawain displays false humility at the beginning, the way he keeps his humility during his stay at the castle, and the way he is truly learns humility after his challenges with the Green Knight are over.
In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the protagonist Oedipus faces the realization of an ancient prophecy. Based on the prophecy, Oedipus is to kill his father and espouse his mother, Jocasta. Little to his knowledge, Oedipus has already fulfilled the prophecy. Initially, Oedipus’ emotions controlled him and his pride consumed him, only making him blind to the truth that he is the source of pollution in Thebes. Oedipus is a dynamic character who realizes his true fate. Once Oedipus fully becomes self-aware, he is no longer consumed by pride, and he no longer relies on his emotions.
Oedipus was blind in more then one way. He was blind to the truth about his own life. Oedipus had no idea that his real parents were Laius and Jocasta. He was so blind that he got mad at anyone who was foolish enough to suggest such an idea.
According to Aristotle, the protagonist in a tragedy must have a tragic flaw that ultimately becomes the cause of his ruin. Oedipus in Oedipus the King by Sophocles tragic flaw that caused his downfall was his pride. Three examples of when Oedipus’ pride got the better of him were: when he left his adopted parents in Cornith, the second is when he goes against Creon, and the third is when Oedipus is demanding that the messenger tell him all he knows about who his real parents are.
As the play draws to a close, it is shown how Oedipus learns the true nature of things. Oedipus remains blind to the truth until he can deny it no longer. After hearing the testimony of the herdsman it is perfectly clear to Oedipus that he has fulfilled the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother, in turn bringing the great misfortune about the city of Thebes. Upon discovering the truth, along with discovering Jocasta’s dead body, Oedipus blinds himself with the pins on her dress and shouts that his eyes “would no longer see the evils he had suffered or had done, see in the dark those he should not have seen.” (1280-1282).
Oedipus was willing to die to uncover the truth. Closure was needed for Oedipus the individual and Oedipus the king. Despite this need for closure, Oedipus remained blind to the clues in his path, plainly dismissing the ideas of other characters. Oedipus’ passion for knowledge was at least as strong as his blindness to the clues in his path. This blindness can be attributed to his pride. This pride gradually developed from h...
When Oedipus starts looking for the killer, he has a conversation with Teiresias that states, “ I say that you are the murderer whom you see”. (1. 347) Oedipus replies, “Now twice you have spat out infamy. You’ll pay for it!” ( 1. 348). Oedipus is denying what he is being accused of because he never knew the king, and never had a relationship with his father. This shows that he is blind because not knowing that Laius was his father and the king, he still fulfilled part of the prophecy. Further on into the play, Oedipus states, “ How could I bear to see, when all my sight was horror everywhere?” ( Exodus.1289-1290). After Oedipus is informed with the full truth and finally having knowledge or complete sight of what is going on, he decides to take his punishment into his own hands, by blinding himself. He does this because he didn’t want to see or deal with the horrible truth (his fate) , of him actually being his father’s killer, his wife being his mother, and grandmother/ mother to his children. This happened because he tried to ignore the prophecy that was told to him, and that caused him to flee from where he was at. When he fled, he sped up the process of his own horrible